Rents rise in Amaravati as staff begin to shift from Hyderabad

Vijayawada: Owners of property in Vijayawada and Guntur cities couldn’t have it better. With demand for housing increasing even as government staff gets ready to make the move from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, rents in Vijayawada and Guntur cities and villages in the Amaravati capital region are steadily rising.

They are now in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. House owners in several villages in the Amaravati capital region, especially those close to the temporary secretariat, are also demanding rents in the same range.

There is a rash of new constructions visible in villages in the capital region, all of them being built with the intention of being given on rent to employees seeking housing. Renovation is also taking place for the same purpose.

Some landowners are waiting to obtain developed land from the government to erect new houses and business establishments. Residents think that this is a time to make hay as they feel property values have appreciated after entire villages were earmarked for the construction of the capital.

This belief has brought about a change in lifestyle, which has gone from frugal to lavish, evident in the frenzied manner in which construction and renovation is taking place. A section of land-owners have, for instance, built new houses to meet the demands of employees moving from Hyderabad to Velagapudi, where the temporary Secretariat is located.

Bandlamudi Nagesh, who constructed a three-storied building in his native Penumaka village, said that he and his family envisaged living in comfort, now that their land values were in the region of crores of rupees. He wanted to give a part of his newly constructed house out on rent. A resident of Mandadam had also built a house for precisely the same reason, intending to give his three-bedroom house out on rent for Rs 15,000.

Secretariat Employees Association president Murali Krishna said that rents in villages in the Amaravati capital region were higher than those in Hyderabad city. Searching for housing was going to be the main challenge and employees were considering shared accommodation to reduce the cost.